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There were 2.0 million people ages 20 to 29 who earned college degrees between January and October 2017. About 1.2 million of these recent degree recipients earned a bachelor’s degree, 442,000 earned an advanced degree, and 378,000 earned an associate degree. Among recent bachelor’s degree recipients, 77.6 percent were employed in October 2017.
Year | Associate degree | Bachelor's degree | Advanced degree |
---|---|---|---|
2007 |
80.0% | 77.6% | 90.3% |
2008 |
74.9 | 77.7 | 79.4 |
2009 |
69.3 | 68.8 | 80.8 |
2010 |
68.6 | 70.1 | 79.5 |
2011 |
77.5 | 72.5 | 83.2 |
2012 |
74.4 | 73.1 | 74.3 |
2013 |
73.7 | 72.6 | 78.0 |
2014 |
72.9 | 70.6 | 81.2 |
2015 |
65.5 | 76.7 | 79.3 |
2016 |
73.3 | 70.9 | 79.8 |
2017 |
79.8 | 77.6 | 77.5 |
The employment–population ratios were similar in October 2017 among all three groups of degree recipients. Among recent associate degree recipients, 79.8 percent were employed in October 2017. Among recent advanced degree recipients, 77.5 percent were employed.
These data are from the Current Population Survey. For more information, see “College Enrollment and Work Activity of Recent High School and College Graduates — 2017” (HTML) (PDF). Advanced degrees include master’s, professional, or doctoral degree.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, 77.6 percent of 2017 bachelor's degree recipients were employed in October 2017 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2018/77-point-6-percent-of-2017-bachelors-degree-recipients-were-employed-in-october-2017.htm (visited November 07, 2024).